Doctors Told Her She'd Go Blind. So She Gave Up One Type of Drink and Lost 112 Pounds

By the time she was 17, doctors were already warning Victoria Stean that she'd go blind if she didn't take better care of herself. The British woman, now 24, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 9. Diabetics cannot eat sugar--their bodies lack the ability to produce insulin, which regulates sugar--but Stean drank at least five energy drinks a day (and put lots of sugar in her coffee). If left unchecked, diabetes can cause blindness.

By the time she was ready to enter college, she weighed 273 pounds. She could barely walk, and her vision was blurry. She dislocated her knees, twice, and skipped work for a month because she couldn't walk or drive there. But it was only when she was on vacation with her boyfriend, and saw the photos of herself in a bathing suit, that she remembered her doctors' words.

She decided to take action. First, she stopped guzzling the energy drinks--cold turkey. Despite the horrible headaches, she kept off the sugary drinks. After six months, she started going to exercise and cut out bread and junk food.